I've had the Thiel 2.3's for a little over 2 months now. While I know they're still in the break-in period, I must comment that already, these are great speakers! I'm an audiophile on a budget; my supporting system is very modest (I was able to afford these speakers after profit made from selling my house--although please understand, I didn't sell my house just to buy the speakers!). Yet, these speakers do very well with my Yamaha DSP A-1, Yamaha DVD S700,connected with Monster Datalink IDL 100 coaxial and Kimber 4TC. The sound continues to open up the more I play these speakers, with excellent depth and terrific tonal balance from top to bottom. I originally had them placed 2 feet from the front wall; when I moved them out another foot, the sound stage and clarity improved quite a bit (oak paneling, in an assymetrical room with skylight). Although some listeners have tried to tell me that these Theils don't have the bass of similarly-priced speakers, I couldn't disagree more; the bass is definately there, but not boomy. It's the tightest bass I've heard from a speaker anywhere in the price range. Tight in my book means better: just listen to some jazz trios and you'll appreciate the musicality of this approach.

The Thiels also sound great as a part of my home theater setup. Although my surround and center channel speakers aren't bad (Paradigm CDP 350 center, Paradigm Reference Studio 20's for surrounds) and they blend pretty well with the Theils, the Theils produce a lower distortioned, more realistic sound for music and effects.

The bottom line for me with these speakers is that they produce, in my opinion, exactly what is coming from the source material. I am a musician by profession and have a very critical ear, as well as lots of experience listening to music live. The coherence of these speakers is phenomenal, even compared to more expensive choices. It is true that their soundstage is not as wide as some (although stage depth is outstanding, as is instrumentation placement within the soundstage), but to me, this is a minor weakness among a plethora of big pluses. When shopping, I compared these with B&W's Nautilus 803/804's, Hales' Revelation and Trascendence series, and Theil's own 1.5, among others. At any price, and especially in this price range, there is no more musical speaker, in my opinion.

I spent about one year listening to different speakers and components at different dealers...also spent a lot of time on the internet with this and other sites...began subscribing or looking at magazines re: home thater and audio. I am not an expert...I just wanted a system to enjoy and for my family to enjoy. The Thiel CS 2.3's are the main part of this system...they are being powered by a Denon 5700..I have a Sony 7700, and for my other speakers, a Thiel center speaker, a Sunfire MK II, and Defintive Technology BPX surrounds, with a Panamax 1000 and Monster Cable for all connections, all in a Diamond Case Murano cabinet. I am very happy...yes, I know that I might get a bit "better" sound if I added a really good amplifier...maybe someday...but for now I am going to enjoy what I have...which just sounds better and better. Thiel's folks were very helpful, both in repsponses to mail and E-mail and at the show in Chicago. Bob Cordell, my saleman with Ovation in Indianapolis, who put up with me all this time and installed my system, just told me that he has now decided on new speakers for his home...you guessed it...Thiel CS 2.3.

Soundstage, transparency, coherency.

Rather high price (In The Netherlands)

After being involved in building my own electrostatic loudspeaker system, for which I bought the high quality muscle machine from the canadian amp builder Bryston, together with a suitable preamp, (BP25 + 4B-ST) I decided to buy a loudspeaker system that could be used as a comparison loudspeaker set that was to set up besides my electrostatic speakers.

I read some articles concerning the Thiel coherent source loudspeaker system, who's underlaying design basics are absolutely valid and truly plausible and decided to hunt for a good offer.

The CS2.3's which are rather expensive in Holland (Dfl 12800,- which is about $4930 a pair). To my surprise, I came across come demo loudspeakers that were sold by the dealer at half the price! (there were some small dents and scratches on the veneer, but no major ones...) This was precisely what I was looking for.

After hooking them up to the 4B-ST, I was very much surprised by the details, dynamics and soundstaging of these electrodynamic boxes. Being used to listen to moving foil, this was the first non electrostatic ls I listened to that did presented the sound as it was, without adding color to the music or the masking minute details.
Bravo Thiel!

The only thing that is their handicap is their price. Not that the are not worth their money, but the Dutch list price of around $4930.00 make it not very available for all budgets I guess. This is the only comment I can make regarding this otherwise perfect product.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 804, 803. Audiostatic ES100 and ES200 electrostatic loudspeakers.

Look, Tight & Strong Bass, Soundstage depth & width, Service from Thiel (excellent !) resonable pricing

High frequency band (lacking middle-high region of treble but bright on upper mid to lower region of treble), metalic vocal sound, thin mid band. No airy sound presence, lacking harmonic arround mid band (which is supposed to be part of the sound signal)

I bought CS2.3 based on all the good comment heards, REGRET !

(I also have the detailed comparison on ProAc 2.5 vs Thiel 2.3)

Please ignore my review if it does offend anyone of you !I've also found that most of good reviews given by the owners were not serious listeners (in term of the combo/gears they have)or not experienced/analytical enough to justify the quality of sound.

I hereby highly agree two of the reviews submitted by Kyle Gross & Joe.

I can not live with CS2.3's metalic sounding arround mid-band, yes it is only slightly metalic, but being a serious listener would not allow even a bit coloration on the mid band. It is because the mid-band comparatively is the most important, particularly on vocal which always comes first for me. My gears are all ARC tube combo & they could not even rescure 2.3.

To me (or to most of the experienced listeners) the mid band to high is most important part for natural/vivid music presentation. The purity & harmonic(mulitplexing of fundemetnal freq.) of mid-high can reproduce the natural sounding, while bass dynamic/tightness only catch someone's attention (being Hi-Fi). All treble,midrange,bass are important, however mid-high is always the first. That can explain why some experiened users would rather use low wattage single end amp as to obtain the purity of mid-high & sacrifie the dynamic/resolution of bass reproduction.

Back to the CS2.3, the supression of the higher treble/harmonic(mentioned by Klye Gross) seems to be caused by its unquie same axis mid/high driver. Thiel calls it as mechanical crossover but obviously it does not work that well. The complexity & transient changing of mid/high signals interfere with each other blocking the subtle harmonic/extended signal to be reproduced. My CS2.3 with 50 hours break-in could not even help ! That is reason for why a hi-fi speaker nowaday need to have a descrete tweeter & woofer, because in the old full range driver the movement of the woofer would have significantly enegrtic interferene to the movement of treble region.

I can assure I am 100% audioplhile. I've been spending a lot of money replacing my gear (at least at my current econmoic status). For the past two years I have bought/replaced 6 pairs of speakers, 3 PowerAmps (Krell,ARC) ,3 preamp (ARC, convergent, Ayre) & 3 digital front-ends (Wadia, Sony, Sonic Frontiers). Reason? I am still seeking the precision of the sound reproduction. Every high-end electronics gear would have their native charateristic but ultimately their signal will need to feed into a pair of speakers, and the sound presentation varys mostly on this final gear-speakers ! However, up to present I have not yet found a pair of speakers(affordable by me can fit the condition I am looking for.

For someone that the clarity/dynamic of Bass -- CS2.3 is good for them.

Similar Products Used:

Just almost at the same time I bought ProAc Response 2.5, 2, 3 and Focus Audio FS 78, TAD TSM-300 (Yes, I own them all!) & Ensemmble PA1

At the first time I heard this Thiel 2.3, it is very impressive . It gives you more detail than 2.2. They have improve very much. i can say that it's a lot different. Especially Mid range. Thiel has brought the impress of cs1.5 and 2.2mix to each other. I can say that this is the most valuable in the price range of $3000-5000. Overall I really satisfied.
System
CD Classe' .5
Integrate Classe' CAP-100
MIT T2
MIT 350

Went down to the local hifi store to check out a pair of PSB Stratus Bronze speakers cause they fit my price range and I have been genuinely impressed with the sonic qualities of PSBs. While they were a nice speaker, I couldn't help but notice a pair of Thiel 2.3s on the other side of the room hooked up to a Classe CA-200, CP-50, Meridian 508.24 setup. So, like anyone, I asked to listen to them. To say that they were amazing is a serious understatement! Thiel has really outdone themselves with this speaker, taking the already good 2 2 and making it better. There was no floor or ceiling to these suckers. The PSBs seemed to be a little laid back in the treble, and they certainly didn't have the bass of the Thiels. Another thing that impressed the heck out of me was the quality of low bass. I have heard some really nice speakers that had great midrange, but then all of the bass was boomy and poorly portrayed. Not so with the 2.3s, they had no problem showing (I laugh using this word, cause they are speakers) the individual starts and stops to the bass lines. As for the fact that many people find Thiels a bit bright, I can only say that Tori Amos has never sounded so good. I listen to a rather bright setup right now, and it's pretty decent, but her voice gets a bit too much in the treble every once in a while. On the Thiels, she was just there, no overly hyped treble, no screach, just her, the piano, and a 3-d stage that went past where I was sitting. You wouldn't ever need surrounds with these speakers because the image depth is phenomenal! To rate these speakers is to place a limit on them, but since I must, I'd give them a five in a heartbeat. As for the thoughts of purchasing a pair... Well let's just say that 6k for a system (2.3s, a CA-150, and a Marantz CD67SE) no longer seems that much. These things take you a new world as far as sonics go, listen to them don't be surprised if you are thinking that 3 grand isn't all that much for a loudspeaker.

I'm still breaking in my recently purchased Thiel 2.3's and SCS2 Center channel speakers. I've noticed that placement of the speakers takes quite a lot of effort to make the proper soundstage. The Mid and High end sounds are very crisp and for those people who are not used to listening to music with heavy brass or hi-tone percussives the speakers can seem harsh. Because I live in a place where stereos can not be played loud, I've noticed that the 2.3's produce a very satisfying bass at low listening levels.

Recently purchased 2.3's, still in break in period. Was looking in the three thousand dollar range for a pair of speakers that could fill up my 40x30x19 living room with good sound. Took a year to audition speakers. I am a trumpet player and have always preferred my music to be on the bright side with tight, realistic bass. In other words, the highs sparkle and the lows support. I wanted exquisite clarity and soundstaging. The PSB Stratus Golds were going to be my choice, although I was a little disappointed in their muddied high end. I also kinda liked the Infinities with the integrated active 12" sub-woofers, but they sounded a little weak, but had superb soundstaging. Then Jim Thiel came up with the 2.3, YESSSSSSS.
I run this speaker off of an eight year old 100 wpc Rotel Integrated Amp and have a Yamaha 5 disc changer, in other words, not the best of electronics. What I can tell you is that this speaker is spooky in its imitation of reality. Maybe it's the introduction of the tweeter/midrange coaxial speaker, allowing both to work off the same coil and thus employing a mechanical rather than electronic crossover, that accounts for this, I don't know.

If you don't want reality, don't get this speaker. If you want to have your high end clouded and your bass boomy, don't get this speaker. If you want precision and accuracy (and the joy of replacing your electronics) get this speaker. IT IS REMARKABLE, ASTONISHING and INEXPENSIVE. I'll be hard to convince that spending another 10 grand would get you much more than you get with these puppies.

I have recently purchased a pair of Thiel CS 2.3 and am running them with a Aragon 8008BB, Aragon 28K and an Arcam Alpha 9 through Straight Wire Virtuoso Platinum II speaker cable and Straight Wire Crescendo Interconnects. After auditioning every speaker I could find in the $3500 to $5000 price range including Maggie 3.5s, Wilson Cubs, I choose the 2.3s due to the Awesome Sound Stage and Great Dynamics, they just disappear and let me become part of the music. Easily 5 stars

I heard a pair of Thiel's low-end speakers about 10 years ago and I still haven't forgotten the experience. I have tried to find speakers that could compare, but even the most expensive set I could find (Infinity's top of the line, $60,000 at the time) couldn't touch the Thiels' clarity and imaging prowess. So even though I haven't heard this particular Thiel model (which I imagine is far superior to the pair I heard 10 years ago), I'll give anything bearing the Thiel name five stars.